Table 1. Effects of MDMA on neurochemicals of the 1H-Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy profile.
Sprague Dawley rats were treated with MDMA (10 mg/kg IP, q2h ×4) or saline (1 ml/kg IP, q2h ×4) and euthanized 7 days afterwards with no treatment in the interim period. Brains were dissected and tissues analyzed using 1H-MRS. Data are shown as nanomole neurochemical / milligram tissue except for the glutamine to glutamate ratio (GLN / GLU). Sample sizes (N) were 6–9 rats per group, and data are shown as the mean ± standard error of the mean.
| Prefrontal Cortex | Anterior Striatum | Hippocampus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| saline | MDMA | saline | MDMA | saline | MDMA | |
| Alanine | 0.48±0.02 | 0.47±0.01 | 0.40±0.02 | 0.37±0.02 | 0.49±0.04 | 0.51±0.03 |
| Cholinesb | 1.52±0.31 | 1.44±0.32 | 1.58±0.14 | 1.45±0.14 | 1.65±0.07 | 1.56±0.09 |
| Creatine | 5.21±0.10 | 5.56±0.11 | 5.36±0.11 | 5.75±0.11a | 5.57±0.10 | 5.69±0.10 |
| Glutamine | 2.37±0.07 | 2.55±0.12 | 2.47±0.13 | 2.54±0.12 | 1.83±0.14 | 1.77±0.10 |
| Glutathione | 0.81±0.04 | 0.93±0.03a | 0.87±0.02 | 0.99±0.04a | 0.71±0.03 | 0.74±0.03 |
| GPCb | 0.98±0.08 | 1.06±0.04 | 0.96±0.10 | 0.94±0.10 | 0.92±0.11 | 1.27±0.06a |
| Lactate | 9.01±0.33 | 9.24±0.24 | 7.42±0.25 | 7.43±0.19 | 9.05±0.26 | 8.76±0.16 |
| Succinate | 0.34±0.02 | 0.37±0.02 | 0.29±0.02 | 0.30±0.02 | 0.28±0.01 | 0.26±0.01 |
| Taurine | 8.05±0.20 | 8.81±0.17a | 7.62±0.25 | 7.81±0.20 | 6.32±0.37 | 6.63±0.21 |
| GLN / GLU | 0.24±0.01 | 0.25±0.01 | 0.32±0.01 | 0.33±0.01 | 0.24±0.02 | 0.25±0.01 |
Data were analyzed by independent t-test (aP<0.05 for saline versus MDMA; indicated by box shaded in grey).
b
Note that (total) Cholines = choline + phosphorylcholine + glycerophosphorylcholine (GPC).